Jjamppong – Spicy Korean Seafood Noodles

Jjamppong… or Jajangmyeon? They’re the two most popular dishes at Korean-Chinese restaurants. I think these two dishes account for more than 90% of total sales. In fact, if you go with Koreans, you never ask for the menu. Just count the number of hands that want Jjamppong or Jajangmyeon. Occasionally, you get that one guy (or girl) that wants Shrimp Fried Rice. I personally am more of a Jjamppong guy. That’s because I love seafood and spice! And this dish brings the two elements together. My one complaint is that restaurants give 1-2 shrimps and maybe 4-5 mussels. It forces you to strategically eat the seafood pieces – you know, save one one the side so it lasts… hah! Today, I’ll show you how to make it at home, so you can splurge on the ingredients 🙌

This specific recipe is from Chef Baek Jong Won. He has a large chain of Korean-Chinese restaurants in Korea (and even a few in the US) that specialize in Jajangmyeon and Jjamppong. I like this recipe because it’s simple to make and includes a good ratio of vegetable to seafood. Now, allow me to add a few cooking notes:

Instructions

Prep Ingredients

Fill a large bowl with cold water and a few shakes of salt. Then place in your clams (or mussels). Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for 15-20 minutes. The clams will purge themselves during this time.

Peel, devein and wash shrimp.

Next, clean-out the squid and cut it into bite-sized strips.

Also, cut the pork into small bite-sized strips.

Cook ingredients

Place a large pot (or wok) on high heat. (You want high heat!) Then add-in a good amount of oil (3-4 Tablespoons). Once the oil turns hot, place in the diced spring onion pieces and the minced ginger (1/2 teaspoon). Stir both around for 1 minute or until you can smell the aroma of the spring onions.

Now add in the pork pieces. Stir it around until most of the pink in the meat is gone.

Then add in the squid pieces. Stir it around for 30 seconds.

Then season the stir-fry with Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons). Then immediately add-in the sliced onions, cabbage, carrot and zucchini. Mix everything around for 1 minute.

Now, add in 1/2 cup of gochugaru. Mix it around and get everything evenly coated. Then immediately add in water so the gochugaru doesn't burn. Pour just enough water to cover the top of your ingredients.

Once the pot comes up to boil, place in your shrimp and clams (or mussels).

Let the stew boil away until the clams (or mussels) start to open. Then season the stew with some salt (2 Tablespoons). Take a sample of the broth and add more salt - if needed.

Next, add 10-12 good shakes of black pepper into the broth. Our master pot is now finished - all we need is noodles!

Cook Noodles

If you'll use flour noodles, give the noodles an initial soak in cold water. This will remove the extra flour that is covering the noodles.

Next, briefly boil your noodles according to the package instructions.